


Through Yellow Tinted Glasses

by jaguarspot



Category: Power Rangers (2017), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Lucy Lane is a little shit, green ranger maggie sawyer, violence and blood later on, yellow ranger lucy lane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-31 06:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13969215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaguarspot/pseuds/jaguarspot
Summary: What if Lucy Lane was the Yellow Ranger?a.k.a. Lucy Lane's guide for getting 4 friends and 2 girlfriends in 3 weeks





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DontBeJelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontBeJelly/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Kryptonite Is A Painbow](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11458638) by [DontBeJelly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontBeJelly/pseuds/DontBeJelly). 



> A huge thanks to Jesi_Ki_Kage for helping me with this and being a wonderful Beta. This will be updated once a week. I'm thinking 4 or 5 chapters.

 

Lucy is about to fail this class. She’s smart, and she knows it, but that doesn’t help her much if she doesn’t hear a single word the teacher says in class. She can’t concentrate at school though, because she sits right next to the window, on the second row from the board. That means if she looks to her left, she gets lost in thought looking out the window. If she looks right, she gets distracted by the biggest pair of dimples she’s ever seen. If she looks to the front, she gets to stare at the teacher’s pet, a girl with short, brown hair and the muscles of a surfer, and if she looks to the back, the teacher yells at her. Oh, and if the teacher yells at her, both the girl with dimples and the surfer turn to stare at her.

Oh well. Who needs biology anyways.

~*~

Lack of interest in the subject aside, Lucy did need to pass biology, so she decided she would go get some donuts for breakfast, and then spend all saturday morning studying, and if she had to she could review her notes on sunday to make sure she was caught up with the subject.

However, that plan went out the window the moment she opened the front door, donut box in hand, and heard the screaming.

“-even was the point?! If you’re just gonna leave?”

“I do not have to explain myself to-”

“Oh, no, of course you don’t, you never-”

“Do not speak to me in that tone young lady-”

“Why the fuck not? You’re leaving again! After making Lucy and I move halfway across the country _again-_ ”

  
“My work is very important-”

“If you’re gonna keep moving around for work every _five minutes_ , at least let the two of us stick to one place instead of uprooting our lives every-”

Lucy sighed as she crept up the stairs unnoticed. She shut the door of her bedroom behind her, but that still didn’t muffle the sounds of her sister and her father fighting. It never did, the Lanes had strong lungs on them,  and they’d all had a lot of practice since Lucy’s mom died a few years back.

Lucy sat at her desk by the window and opened her books. She picked up her pen and-

“Oh now _I’m_ being irrational? _You_ are being irrational!”

“Say whatever you want, I leave tomorrow at 0500 hours and that. Is. Final.”

Lucy sighed again, and then rolled her eyes when she heard the front door slam shut. Lois had probably just stormed out, and wouldn’t be back until she was sure she wouldn't run into their father, even if she had to stay at a Walmart or a park until the sun came up and she knew he would be gone (General Lane had made damn sure both his daughters could keep themselves safe years ago, so Lucy wasn't really worried). It was not the first time this happened. After an outburst like that, all three Lanes would want to avoid more conflict, so they’d keep their distance from each other. The General would finish packing and be gone in the morning without checking on either of his daughters, and when he eventually came back they would all pretend nothing ever happened. Then he’d either leave again or tell them to start packing, and the cycle would begin all over again.

Figuring she might as well keep up with the tradition, Lucy stuffed the last half donut in her mouth, grabbed her headphones from the bed, and looked to her room’s door, before deciding to just exit through the window. She made sure not to slam it behind her so she wouldn't make noise or break the weird tiger mural on the glass. She rather liked that thing.

Figuring she wasn’t doing _that_ bad in biology yet, she decided to take a long walk to the abandoned mine and worry about her homework on sunday. Just because she was used to the screaming matches didn't mean she enjoyed them. Having one of them right before her father left again though - and only a month after they had moved into the new place - made this one feel particularly bad.

As she walked, Lucy started hoping she wouldn't run into anyone else at the mine. In the single month she had lived in Angel Grove she had already become a regular presence there, and even though being in there was technically trespassing, she was far from the only one.

One of the most regular trespassers was an asian looking hot guy who Lucy had seen at the school exactly once. He usually stayed out of her way and explored the abandoned train cars. More often than not, he would be joined by the girl with dimples from her biology class. The fact that they seemed so close surprised her a little, since she knew that the girl- Sawyer? Lucy was almost sure her name was Sawyer- had been the new kid in town for two, almost three weeks until Lucy had shown up to take the title.

Still, from what Lucy had heard, the two of them were always looking for jobs they could do to get some extra cash here and there, so it made sense they had bonded while doing that.

The other regular presence at the mine was that quiet kid from her english class. She was pretty confident his name was Billy. He always showed up with a large toolbox and disappeared somewhere around the mountain to do who-knows-what. He always said hello when he saw Lucy, and she had seen him wave at the train boy and Sawyer. At school he seemed to keep more to himself, except for the small group of friends he sat with at lunch, or when he was with that surfer girl- Danvers, the teachers called her- and the both of them got into long conversations about science that Lucy couldn't make heads or tails of.

Heading to her favorite spot overlooking the valley, Lucy sees train boy lying on top of one of the cars, a bonfire nearby for warmth, but Sawyer is nowhere to be seen. Neither is Billy.

Once there Lucy places her headphones on her ears, hits play, and starts warming up. As she goes through pose after pose, she starts to relax. Yoga used to be something she did with her mom, and even all this time later, it helps her calm down. She got so into it she didn't notice as hours went by, and the sun began to set.

What she _did_ notice was when an explosion rocked the mine so loud she heard it through her metal music, and so hard it knocked her to the ground. As she slid her headphones down to her neck and decided to go investigate, she had no idea how much her life was about to change

   ~*~

Lucy woke up in her bed, remembered getting in a van that tried to outrun a train, panicked, and promptly broke her bedframe. She scrambled off the bed, ran to the bathroom, and broke the door off its hinges trying to slam it shut.

Well then.

She took a few deep breaths, forced herself to relax a little, and managed to take a shower and eat a bowl of cereal without breaking anything else. She checked her phone for the time and found it had run out of battery. After plugging it in she saw it was 10 am. On Monday.

Shit, she never did her biology homework after all.

Fine, since she was already late for class, she decided to take a page out of train boy’s- Zack, his name was Zack- book and just skip school altogether. She went to the garage to find her dad's toolbox and fixed the bathroom door before Lois could see it. Then she rearranged her bedsheets to cover the broken bed. Deciding to see if she could find out anything else about whatever it was that had happened yesterday- er, saturday - she packed up a bag with some snacks, an extra jacket and flashlight, and her empty water bottle as preparation for going back to the mine. While she was doing that, she felt something in her jeans pocket, and pulled out the weird yellow coin she had found the night bef- on saturday. She really needed to remember that.

Not wanting to lose it, she put the coin in a shoebox she kept under her bed with some of the stuff she didn't want to lose track of every time she moved. Then she slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed downstairs. She headed for the kitchen to refill her water bottle and froze when she saw a yellow glint on the counter.

Hadn't she just…?

She went back upstairs and knelt down to check under the bed. The coin was gone. When she put the box back in its place and sat back, she almost jumped out of her skin. There the coin was again, eye level with her, just innocently sitting on the bed as if she had left it there. Huh. Seemed like the coin liked to startle her.

The little shit.

Fine, she supposed if the thing was gonna keep following her, she might as well just keep it in her pocket.

After making sure her water bottle was filled, Lucy locked the front door behind her and took off back towards the mine, telling herself over and over that she was ready for whatever she was gonna find there this time.

~*~

Lucy wasn't ready. She wasn't ready for four teens she didn't even know to chase her at impossible speeds up a mountain. She wasn't ready for Kimberly Freaking Hart to tell her she was /thirsty/ and to fall for it.

Literally.

Off a cliff.

She wasn't ready to start glowing yellow, follow the other teens under a psychics-defying wall of water, find some sort of ancient cave, and she sure as hell wasn't ready for them to suddenly find themselves trapped inside what she was increasingly sure was a spaceship.

She wasn't ready for all the lights on the spaceship to turn off except for those marking the way into the very center of it.

When the other four teens trapped with her ignored all common sense and followed the lights, she still wasn't ready for much, but had a bit more of a resigned mindset. That still didn't stop her from jumping when the door shut itself behind them, and a giant face popped up from the wall and started talking to them. She listened to everything he said about them being Power Rangers and having 11 days to defeat some Rita chick, and protecting some mythical crystal that supposedly sustained all life on earth.

When they still refused to help -or even to believe him, really- he somehow submerged them all in a hallucination where said Rita managed to win and killed everyone on the planet.

By this point, Lucy had had enough.

“Hey you, with the face! If we’re the Power Rangers, and this is our ship, if I walk through that door right now, will it open for me?”

“Yes, of course”

She exchanged a look with Kim, and they ran out. They were soon joined by Billy and Zack, with Jason catching up a few minutes later. He looked surprised to see them all there.

“You all waited. Even you.” They all turned to Lucy “Who… exactly are you?”

“Really? Now you’re gonna ask me who I am?”

Zack leaned forward “Look, her name is Lilly.”

“ _Lucy._ ”

“She’s new at school. Transferred in last week” Kim turned to look at her, as if asking for confirmation “We have english together, right?”

“I’ve been at Angel Grove for over a month now, we have _biology_ together. Good talk” Kim may not be as distracting as Danvers and Sawyer, but Lucy had definitely noticed her. Letting out an offended sigh that was only half for show, Lucy got up, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and turned to leave before Jason’s voice stopped her.

“Wait, look-”

~*~

After Jason’s pep-talk, they all left the cave and went their separate ways. Despite still being pretty freaked out, Lucy kept what happened from her sister when they had dinner together, and her father when he called that night.

The next morning, she headed to school like normal, doing her best to avoid the other four. She still didn’t know if she was going to show back up at the ship at the time Jason had told them he would, and she didn’t want them to try to convince her. By fifth period she had been doing pretty well at keeping to herself, so she decided to skip biology altogether.

Her grades could handle it. Definitely.

She hid in the bathroom, scrolling on her phone until the bell announced her next class for the day. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked out, only to stop in her tracks when she saw Billy and Danvers walking her way. She ducked right back into the bathroom, and cursed to herself when they stopped right in front of the door. They didn't seem to have seen her, since they didn't even stop their conversation.

“-rearranging the wiring should get rid of the problem.”

“Yeah, but if you do that don’t forget to alter the casing so it can handle the extra power.”

“Right, of course. Thanks Alex!”

“No problem Billy. Hey do you want me to swing by tonight? We could work on it for a bit and I could even drive you to the mine later if you want.”

“Oh, uh, thanks Alex! But uh, I can't today.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“I have to go meet someone later. So I won’t be going to the mine today. Not at all! But wait, it’s tuesday. Isn't it Movie Night with your sister?”

“Normally, yeah. But she left yesterday on a- eh - a holiday with her cousin. Yeah. It’s uh, a religion thing for them. They'll be gone all month to his fo- his winter home. So now I got nothing to do all week.”

Lucy scoffed. They were both terrible liars. She didn't know what Danvers was lying about, but she was doing a pretty bad job of it. She didn't get a chance to wonder what she could be hiding before a new voice joined the conversation outside the door.

“So all those big assignments we have for the week are “nothing”? Wow Danvers, way to make the rest of us look bad.”

“Maggie! Um, I didn't mean it like that, you're not stupid. Not that I'm calling everyone else stupid! Who’s stupid? No one’s stupid, plus you’re so smart! I mean, not that I’ve noticed you're smart, that would be creepy, I just-”

Lucy had a hand pressed against her mouth, trying her hardest not to laugh. Thankfully, Billy stepped in to save Danvers from putting her foot even further into her mouth.

“What Alex is trying to say is that, she and I already finished all those assignments in saturday detention”

“Really? And what were the two students all the teachers love doing in saturday detention? It wouldn't have anything to do with that explosive lunchbox from last month would it? The one that destroyed three lockers?”

Now this was interesting. Lucy hadn't heard that story yet. She rolled her eyes when both nerds outside immediately started sputtering again.

“Wha- explosive? No, of course not.”

“Lunchboxes don't explode!”

“Yeah or, or lockers, that would be ridiculous!”

“Ridiculous, yes! And dangerous. This is a school you know, of course we wouldn't bring anything dangerous to it!”

“Yeah, no, cause we’re responsible!”

“Very responsible. The most responsible.”

Lucy facepalmed. It was a good thing that neither of those two was keeping any world-altering secrets. Er, okay, it was good that at least Danvers had nothing to hide. Lucy hoped the other three “Rangers” were a bit better at playing innocent.

“Anyways we have to go. I don't know about Billy, but I have to get to AP chemistry, and you're gonna be late for english if you don’t head out now since you have to cross over half the building.”

“...You don't know Billy's schedule, but you know what class I have next and where?”

Lucy was laughing into her hand again, trying her best to muffle the sound.

“Alex always pays attention to the people she cares about and- are you okay Alex? You’re all red.”

“Is that the bell? ByeBillybyeMaggiegottagoseeya!”

“I didn't hear the bell…”

“It didn't ring, Billy.” Sawyer also sounded like she was suppressing laughter.

“Huh. She's fast. Well, bell or not, I do have to go. Bye Maggie!”

“See you Billy!”

Hearing Billy’s footsteps leaving, Lucy figured she could get out of the bathroom now. Except, right as she was raising her hand towards the door, it swung open, and Sawyer walked in. Both girls stopped walking and stared at each other.

“Lane, right? From biology?” Well, at least someone noticed her on that classroom.

“Yeah. Sawyer?”

“It’s Maggie”

“Lucy”

“Are you okay?”

“I- what? Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You skipped school yesterday, and today you've been looking around yourself like you’re expecting to be jumped, and you missed biology. Again.” Okay. Maybe someone noticed her _a little_ too much.

“Have you been following me or something?”

“Nah, I'm just really good at detecting this kind of stuff.”

“I thought Danvers was the stalker.”

Maggie blushed a little. “Alex is not that bad.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So? Why skip biology?”

“Just felt like it I guess.”

“Felt like failing the class?”

“I’m not doing that bad.”

“Sure you’re not, you just haven’t turned in any homework in… how long? Since you got here?”

“Weren't you the one telling Danvers off for making others look bad just five minutes ago?”

“I'm not trying to make you look bad. I actually hoped I could help you.”

“Help me by… calling me out?”

Maggie sighs. “No. I was wondering if maybe you wanted to study with us.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow “Who is ‘us’?”

“Alex has been helping her little sister catch up on a few subjects. Since I'm also new here and my last school had a different program, the three of us have been studying together. I can ask Alex if you can come too.”

“Would she even know who I am? I seem to be pretty invisible lately.”

“She literally told her sister last week that the quiet girl with the yellow beanie seemed to be having trouble with the bio teacher and she kinda hoped she could help you. I’m sure she won't mind that I invited you.” Apparently there was _another_ hot girl who noticed her in that class. Two out of three wasn’t that bad.

“And the sister?”

“Kara? She's out of town, but even if she wasn’t, that girl is like a human puppy. She loves meeting new people.”

“Fine… I'll consider it.” Bull. Getting a chance to catch up on the subject she was failing, helped by the two hottest girls in her class? There was nothing to consider. “When and where do you meet?”

Maggie smiled and said something. Lucy's eyes immediately went to her cheek. _Dimple._

“Lane!”

Lucy shook her head “Sorry, what?”

Maggie’s eyes twinkled and she looked like she was trying not to laugh again.

“I said that we meet at the Krispy Kreme every weekday at 7, see you there?”

“Uh-”

Maggie’s smile grew wider at Lucy's stuttering. _Double dimple!_

_“_ Uh _,_ yeah. Yeah, I'll see you guys there every day I can.” Lucy forced herself to look up at Maggie's eyes. “I'm still helping my sister unpack, so I may not be there on time all that much” Lucy congratulated herself on lying better than Alex and Billy. She still hadn't decided if she would turn up at the ship after school, but figured it was better to have an excuse ready either way.

“Got it. See you around Lane.”

“Yeah- yeah. Bye.” Lucy fled the bathroom.

~*~

The last bell for the day rang, and Lucy was still debating whether she should show back up at the ship like Jason had asked them or not. Then she leaned back against a row of lockers and accidentally dented one. After quickly looking around to make sure no one had seen her, Lucy opened the dented locker to see whose stuff she’d just broken.

“Siobhan Smythe huh? I know that name… the cheerleader? Got in a scandal about a photograph the week before I moved here.”

Now unconcerned, she turned to leave. Once outside, she started heading for the mine. As amusing as it could be to indirectly get back at the girl who’d been making Kim’s life a living hell lately, she really needed to get control of her strength. She wanted to understand what had really happened to her, and there was only one place to do that.

~*~

The first thing Zordon told them were the three rules to being a Power Ranger. Never to use their powers for personal gain, never to escalate a fight unless their enemy forced them to, and to never reveal their identity, ever. Then, Zordon told them to try to “morph”. It… did not go well. Zordon had them try to “connect” to each other and the Grid, but after a few tries, told them they would have to train without armor.

“Follow the lights. They will take you to the Pit”

“That does not sound ominous _at all._ ” Lucy couldn’t help but comment, even as they all walked out the door and started following the lit up walls until they got to a cave they hadn’t seen before.

“This is the Pit. It is equipped with highly advanced training technology, designed to replicate dozens of different enemies so you can learn how to fight them. As you attempt to take them down, I will give you instructions on how to improve your form and accuracy. I have been able to access this planet’s ‘internet’, and adapted several martial arts styles for your different sizes and builds. I shall tell you how to perform them, and you will learn to overcome your opponents.”

Lucy looked up at the ceiling incredulously. Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who saw a problem with this method.

“Uh, Zordon? Is there any other way you could teach us? Something more visual? Or more tactile?”

“I’m afraid not, Billy. There used to be an android assistant in this ship that could have helped. He is the one that sealed my essence into the ship, saving me, and then figured out a way to wake me without the use of the Power Coins. Unfortunately, he could not endure the passage of time for the last 65 million years. He broke down a long, long time ago.”

“Well, maybe I could fix him!”

“I'm afraid erosion and corrosion have long left his remains unsalvageable. But worry not! I may not be able to give visual demonstrations, but you shall get plenty of tactile experience. You will not be training only with each other.”

Some rocks on the floor started glowing. Then they started rolling closer to each other. The rock piles gathered in four separate spots and kept growing, until they resembled four rock monsters taller than all of them.

“These creatures before you are a simulation of Rita’s army. They’re called putties. You must get through them, to get to her.”

“Hold the fuck up.”

Everyone turned at Lucy

“Are you saying that your bright solution for us to learn how to fight well enough to save the world and not get killed in less than two weeks is to basically throw giant, sentient rocks at us and dictate fighting forms?”

“What’s wrong Lane? Are you scared? Come on, they’re just holograms, they can’t hurt us.”

Zack changed his mind faster than it took him to get thrown into a wall by one of them. Lucy laughed while he got up and unsteadily dusted himself off.

Zordon let them go at it one by one for a few minutes, yelling instructions here and there while first Jason, then Zack, then Billy got beat up. Then he told them to pair off, Jason partnered up with Billy, and told Zack to train with Kim. Lucy leant on the wall and drawled at Jason “Is it because I’m short?”

“Uh, no, of course not. I just… want you to see us go at it a few times first. Okay?”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at him. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

As she watched them get into fighting stances and start clumsily trying to hit each other, she picked up a rock from the ground, and gave it an experimental squeeze. The rock turned to dust in her hand. She grinned to herself, and started casually walking towards the putties while keeping an eye on her “teammates”.

When she was just a few feet away, she took off running, leaped up, planted a foot on the knee the first of the putties, and used it to propel herself higher up and into kicking range of the second puttie’s head, which she kicked right off. On her way down, she grabbed the arm of putty number two and used her momentum to flip it into number three, breaking both of them. Then, she turned right in time to block a hit from number one. She dodged two more hits, before seeing an opening to walk right up to him and deliver three swift punches to its chest area. The putty broke down and turned into dust. When it settled, she looked up to see the astounded looks in the faces of her new team. Even Zordon had finally shut up. Lucy smirked.

“Alright, here’s how this is gonna work-”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has a part in Maggie's POV. You'll see it.
> 
> Also, mind the violence and blood tags.

Lucy was sure when her father started training her and Lois in self-defense and hand to hand combat he was not expecting either of them to use it to start training a bunch of teenagers to fight giant rock monsters.

Zordon’s instructions did help, but her previous fighting experience was what helped the team grasp most of the basics. She was still usually without a sparring partner, though now it was because nobody wanted her to kick their butts while they tried their best to keep up.

Over the next few days, the five of them started getting closer, both during training and outside of it. The team started getting better, taking down more and more putties every time. All of them could now land hits on Lucy, even if no one could beat her yet. Jason started learning the personalities and fighting styles of all of them, and soon his instructions and strategies worked better than Lucy’s.

They still couldn’t morph though.

They tried it every day, before and after training, and during most water breaks. One time, after a particularly good training session where Zack and Billy teamed up to take down 10 putties by themselves, they almost, _almost_ made it. They could all feel the energy, they were close, but they couldn’t quite grasp it.

~*~

That day, Lucy headed home with a spring in her step. She had a good feeling. She was sure the team would have a breakthrough sooner rather than later, and then they’d be able to morph.

Once she got home, Lucy threw open the front door and yelled “Honey! I’m home!”

She got no answer, so Lois probably wasn’t home. Lucy was not surprised, seeing as “avoiding the problem, as well as each other” seemed to be the Lane way of dealing with family issues, and her sister was currently mad at her.

With all their moving around the country, Lois had been getting a degree on journalism online. Lately she’d gotten the idea of writing an article for one of her assignments about the “Angel Grove Gold Killer”, as the news had dubbed Rita. Lucy had suggested she get into something a little less dangerous, but Lois had asked her to name even a single newsworthy thing to happen in the small town in years. Lucy had rolled her eyes and snarked “Me and four other kids found a spaceship buried underground. I’m pretty sure I’m a superhero.”

Lois had scoffed at that. “Alright Superwoman, if you’re a hero, you can ride in on your white horse and save me from the Gold Killer when I find him”

“Her” Lucy had muttered under her breath. But Lois was sharp, and had immediately fixed on her sister with a level of attentiveness Lucy hadn’t seen in a while. “I mean, why would you assume it’s a guy? It could be a woman, it could be a gang, hell, it could be an alien.”

“For the millionth time, aliens do not exist.” And Lois had been strangely defensive about that point ever since their father had them move into, and then out of, Smallville, Kansas, so that had been the end of the conversation. The sisters had been avoiding each other ever since. Now Lois was never home when Lucy got there, no matter how late it was.

Right after that argument, Lucy hid away all the gold she could find to stop her sister from using herself as bait - again - and told herself she was happier without Lois around to notice the bruises she got from training.

Shaking herself back into the present, Lucy headed upstairs to shower and change before her biology study session, putting Lois out of her thoughts for now.

~*~

A short while later, Lucy headed for the Krispy Kreme to see Alex and Maggie. Training had kept her busy, but she still had managed to make 3 or 4 of their study meetings. Lucy had found she really liked those two. They’d been having fun and getting to know each other, and Lucy’s scores in biology were climbing.

That day, they managed to cover most of the material for an upcoming quiz while they shared a plate of donuts. Alex was explaining something about cellular functions to Lucy when they both heard a *thunk*. They looked up to see Maggie had just speared the last piece of donut.

The last piece on _Alex’s_ side of the table.

Alex used her fork to try to get the piece, but Maggie moved it back with a challenging look. When she moved it to the side, Lucy suddenly snatched it. Alex made a grab for her fork but Lucy moved away. Maggie tried to bite the donut off Lucy’s fork but Lucy pulled back with a “No.” and a raised finger. Alex lunged for the fork again, grabbing Lucy’s wrist. Maggie grabbed Alex’s wrist and Lucy tried to hold them both off with her other hand.

When they pulled back from the tangle of arms, Maggie had the fork.

Alex grabbed her arm again and sent the donut piece flying. Lucy snatched Alex’s abandoned fork, leaped up and speared the donut mid-flight. She sat back down and leaned back on her chair with a satisfied smirk. Really, she’d just been toying with them. They were fast, but she had her ranger reflexes. The other two never actually had a chance to-

Lucy bit down on the fork and tasted only plastic. She and Maggie exchanged a wide-eyed look before turning to look at Alex, who was chewing on the donut with an extremely smug look on her face. “Wha- how did-?”

“You’re fast Luce, but I’ve spent the last few years racing my little sister for food. If you want to get any food while she’s around you have to- to-” Alex furrowed her brows and looked down, giving the donut a few more slow chews. Then, her head whipped up to glare at Maggie, who was barely holding down laughter. “Maggie! Was that _vegan_?!?”

Maggie burst out laughing and Lucy rolled her eyes fondly. She really, really liked these two.

~*~

Time was running out. Day 10 out of Zordon’s estimated 11, and they still couldn’t morph.

Rita could show up any moment.

The number of murders reported in the news rose every day. The only things in common between them was the theft of gold from the victim, and the brutality of the murder. Zordon had told them Rita needed gold to create Goldar. It didn’t take a genius to realize every dead person set her closer to her goal. The tension rose in the Pit. The news of every new murder an added weight on the shoulders of the team.

Feeling like they needed some incentive - like the idea of people dying wasn’t incentive enough - Zordon had shown them the Zords.

It had not gone well.

Even though Billy had managed to somehow morph, he couldn’t replicate it, and Zack’s little joyride had gotten them all kicked out of the cave.

As they were heading home, Zack had proposed they stay for a bonfire. Lucy figured it beat going home, since Lois was still avoiding her, and any time they did run into each other, they fell into awkward silences.

Plus, she was kind of craving some company, and these soft idiots were not so bad after all.

She followed the others back to Zack’s favorite spot. They all helped gather some firewood, then sat down around Zack as he knelt to start the fire.

~*~

**Maggie**

~*~

Maggie was walking home from the Krispy Kreme as the sun started to go down. Lucy had just texted them she wouldn’t be joining them to study, and since she and Alex weren’t as far behind as she was, they had decided to have a sleepover and watch a movie or two. Maggie had called home to see if her aunt was planning to use their tv, but she had told Maggie she was going to be working overnight and wouldn’t be home until morning. Right now, Alex had gone off to her home to pack an overnight bag, and Maggie was running ahead to tidy up and get the tv and laptop ready.

Maggie turned a corner, and stopped short. A woman was crossing the street in front of her, heading straight for the jewelry shop. She was barefoot, with water dripping down her legs. The weird coloration on her skin and long, long nails made her look like she was sick. She was walking with a sway that looked almost predatorial, and she was carrying a green and gold disk on one hand, and some sort of short staff in the other. From this distance Maggie could tell that the top of the staff was extremely sharp, the base of it appearing to be made out of teeth.

Golden, human teeth.

Maggie had watched the news.

She knew the woman in front of her - who was right then walking into the jewelry shop - was probably the criminal that had been taking all the gold away from her victims after killing them (or before, one terrifying autopsy had suggested).

Maggie looked through the window and saw a young couple next to a display of wedding rings. They hadn’t even noticed the woman.

This was a really, really bad idea.

Maggie took a deep breath, and slipped inside the shop.

She quietly closed the door behind her, and saw the woman had just taken a golden necklace and eaten it. The shop’s clerk was clearly trying not to react. Maggie started sneaking closer, hoping to be able to take the staff from the woman before she could hurt someone with it.

The creepy woman had just gotten touchy with the clerk. On the one hand, _ew_ , but on the other one, she was distracted enough that Maggie managed to get right behind her. The staff was too far - and between the arms of the woman - but the weird disk on the counter was within reach. Something in her gut told Maggie that disk was really important too.

She managed to snatch it from the counter when the woman raised her forearm, but before she could make a grab for the staff, the woman held the clerk’s golden necklace in her hand and _squeezed_. The gold seemed to liquefy in her hand and then fall towards the staff, which also seemed to liquefy. Maggie took a step back. Then another, and another, as the woman did the same with the entire box of rings to her left and the staff grew much, much longer.

“Grow, grow” she seemed to speak almost tenderly to the staff. Then she turned to the clerk and demanded “More!”

As the clerk passed her more and more gold, Maggie backed up to the door and started making gestures to the couple, who were frozen watching the woman. Maggie’s furious waving seemed to break them out of it, and they ran for the door and out of the store. Thankfully, the woman did not pay any attention to them. Then, she looked down and reached for the spot where she had left her disk. When her hand found nothing, she froze. She put both hands on her staff and Maggie felt a jolt come from the disk.

The woman straightened her back and turned slowly to glare at Maggie. “Give me. My. Coin.”

Maggie took another step back and noticed she could feel a warmth coming from the coin. She had a feeling she had to get out of there.

“Police! Don’t move!” a cop had just burst through the door, but instead of feeling relieved, Maggie’s sinking feeling grew “Drop your… weapon and put your hands on your head. Do it now! Do what I say, Lady”

She turned a menacing grin on the cop “Lady. I like the sound of ‘Lady’.”

Yeah no, Maggie was out of there. With one last look at the clerk, who was fleeing through a staff door, Maggie turned to the door and bolted from the store, coin clutched protectively in her hand. She heard the sound of gunshots, and the coin vibrated in her hand. Then, she heard an explosion behind her. Still running, she turned her head and saw flames coming from what had been the shop. She somehow knew the cop had not made it out, but the woman had. She kept running until she turned the corner of her street, but before she could go on, the coin suddenly lit up and let out a pulse of energy that threw Maggie back. The energy sank into the floor, and the street started to crack and move.

“It has been too long since I raised my beautiful creatures!”

Maggie looked over her shoulder, and saw the creepy woman from the shop walking up to her. Somehow, she knew the woman had followed the coin, and that had led her straight to Maggie.

“My dear coin seems to like you, little girl. We cannot have that, can we?”

As she spoke, the cracks on the ground started growing, until whole chunks of it started shifting and rolling. Maggie watched with horror as the pieces of street and rock then piled together and formed a giant monster that towered over her, leaving her between the woman and the monster. Maggie leapt to her feet and took a step back, only to feel the tip of the spear press between her shoulder blades.

A cold feeling spread through her body from the spot where the spear was pressed against her back. The cold washed over Maggie’s whole body, and when it got to her head, she found that she could no longer move. The only warmth she could still feel was coming from her hand, where she was still holding the coin.

“Kill her.”

Maggie couldn’t do anything as the monster walked up to her and punched her in the chest. She felt several bones breaking as she was thrown back into the sidewalk. The world went black as she struggled to breathe, and she could hear the woman’s steps as she walked closer to her, still talking to the monster in a singsong voice “Come on, come on my dear, there is much to do. I can finish my staff tonight where the dead ships live, and tomorrow we will go, and kill Zordon’s new kiddies and wipe out this ridiculous town!”

Her footsteps stopped right next to Maggie. One of her feet turned Maggie’s head to the side as the woman tsked at her in mock disappointment.  

“What a shame. Such a pretty little thing.”

Then she leaned down, took the coin from Maggie’s grip, and left.

And all Maggie could feel was cold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings for mentions of biphobia and description of an injury

Lucy wasn’t sure how she was feeling about tonight. 

The bonfire was turning out to be a little depressing. And yet, it also felt kind of… hopeful? 

Zack had suggested they all reveal a little about themselves, and had told them about his sick mom. It had hit a little too close to home for Lucy, even though she still had her dad and her sister. Still, she hadn’t said anything to him, which she figured kinda defeated the purpose of their little bonding exercise. 

But then, Zack had said that being with them was good for him. And that had felt familiar too. Lucy had found that she was more open, less hostile towards people and herself since she’d been hanging out with these guys.

Then, Billy had told them about his dad. About going to the mine because it reminded him of the time they had spent together. 

Again, Lucy could relate. She still thought about her mom when she did yoga. She still made her mom’s favorite food on her birthday every year. She still snuck one or two of her mom’s favorite songs on her usual rock playlist.

But then, Billy had said that he didn’t miss his dad as much when he was with them, and Lucy had realized with a jolt that she related to that too. Billy said coming to the mine with them was just as good as coming with his dad, and Lucy realized the time she spent laughing, bonding with these people, she could forget the loneliness she had been feeling from the time her mother died. At least for a little while. 

Then Billy had turned the group’s attention to Kim, and the girl had frozen and insisted they skip her. And  _ fuck _ , Lucy understood that too. Not being able to relax even in a safe space. Keeping something inside that eats at you, but not being able to share it. How the mere thought of it could make you freeze and clam up on the spot. 

Then it had been Jason’s turn. And the single line he’d spoken had told Lucy more than if he’d given them another speech. “Cause everybody knows exactly who I am.” That, again, Lucy could understand. How everybody took one look at him, one look at his background, and immediately assumed they knew him. That what they saw in that first look was all there was to him.

And really, just how similar were all five of them? At first glance, they had nothing in common. But, from what they were learning about each other, they really weren’t that different after all.

And now Zack was turning to Lucy. Asking who she was.

“I could tell you anything and you’d have to believe me” she laughed. But these four people had gotten under her walls when she wasn't looking. And they all recognized the deflection for what it was.

So, she opened up. She told them how she was always the new girl. Three schools in three years, ever since her mom had died. She even told them how she preferred it that way. Kept people from getting too close to her. From getting to know her. Plus, it kept her dad from having to worry about her relationships.

“Boyfriend troubles?” Zack had asked curiously.

Lucy smirked bitterly and took a sip of her drink. “Yeah. Boyfriend troubles. That too.”

Zack looked pensive for a moment. “ _ Girlfriend _ troubles?”

Lucy sighed and dropped her eyes to the fire. “My family tries so hard to be normal. Too hard. They believe in labels.” She swallows. Takes a deep breath. “My father thinks I should be the way he wants me to. Talk more. Dress differently. Have the kind of friends he wants me to have. Get a boyfriend.” 

Lucy takes a pause. Thinks about Lois for a moment. “My sister, she’s a little better. A little more tolerant. But she still doesn’t understand. She’d like me to pick. Make a choice and stick with it. Ignore the rest of my identity. I refuse to do that anymore.”

“Is that why you´ve been spending so much time with Maggie and Alex?”

Lucy looked up, surprised Zack had managed to read her so well. “Yeah. But don’t worry, you´re hot too homeboy!”

Zack and Lucy smiled at each other, but then Lucy’s face fell. She could feel her walls coming back up.

“I- I’ve never said any of this out loud.”

“Well it’s cool,” Billy said, “you’re with us now.” He stuck out his hand, silently asking for a fist bump.

Lucy just stared at him. “Am I? What does that mean?” She sighed, “When all this is over, are we Power Rangers or… are we friends?”

No one seemed to really know how to answer that. The mood fell once again, and everyone was left quietly staring at each other.

“Hey Lane!” 

All eyes turned to Kim

“If you stop to think about it, we’re not quite friends.”

Lucy raised an eyebrow at her.

“I mean, you know how the saying goes. When your friends all jump off a cliff, or tell you to jump off a cliff, you jump, right? But you Lane? You needed a little push.”

For a moment, there was total silence. Then all five of them burst out laughing.

“Hey!” Lucy complained, while she tried to catch her breath.  _ “I _ am the one who’s supposed to give  _ you  _ shit about that forever!”

Kim just shrugged and kept laughing. After that the five of them drifted into lighter conversation.

~*~

The passing lights of the road lit up Lucy’s face as the bus moved forward. She leaned back on her outstretched arms, keeping a distracted eye out to make sure the bus wouldn’t go under any low branches that could hit her where she was sitting on the roof.

Then the bus turned a corner in a residential area, and Lucy sat up with a jolt. Her coin had just done… something. Her back pocket felt warm, and when she pulled the coin out, it seemed to be vibrating and glowing brighter than usual. Lucy realized she felt uneasy, and like something was very wrong.  She closed her eyes and focused her attention inwards, trying to identify the feeling. She felt the need to go help- but help who? 

The coin vibrated again and Lucy opened her eyes. 

She realized the bus was passing by a street where the sidewalk and corner of the street was cracked, with a large hole in it. She was nowhere near her house yet, but her every instinct told her to get off the bus and check it out. She jumped from her perch and landed in a crouch a few feet away. Slowly - mindful of the fact she may not be alone out here - Lucy approached the hole in the ground and got on one knee to inspect it. It seemed to be deep, like a lot of rock and gravel had just gotten up and walked away. 

Lucy had spent enough hours at the Pit these last few days to recognize the mess the putties made when they formed.

What really worried her was the smaller crack on the sidewalk a few feet away. It seemed to have a few wet spots around some of the sharpest edges. Lucy pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight. She brought a finger to one of the wet spots and felt her breath catch.

Blood.

She swung her phone in a slow arc until she found a few more drops of blood farther away. Then, her coin started warming up again. She could feel a pull, an instinct that told her to get up and keep walking. She did, and when she started moving, she realized she was going in the same direction as the faint trail of blood she could make out with her phone’s light.

Uneasy, Lucy followed the blood and the coin to one of the houses on the street. She tried the door and found out that a) there was blood on the handle, and b) it was unlocked.

She walked in and paused. There were vague sounds coming from further inside the house. 

Lucy moved as quietly as she could through the entranceway and slowly turned the corner. The room she was standing in was dark, but there was enough light coming from an open doorway ahead of her to see there were bloody handprints on the wall along the way to the door. She crouched down and poked her head into the room, and froze at what she saw.

Alex Danvers was pacing in front of a bed, muttering frantically and shaking her head to herself. With a start, Lucy realized there was blood on Alex’s hands. Blood that she was rubbing at furiously as she muttered to herself. There was a plastic bag on the floor filled with bloody strips of cut up cloth and a pair of scissors next to it. 

Then Alex moves to the corner of the room, where her phone is plugged to a charger, and Lucy can see the person on the bed, bloody and barely breathing.

“Maggie!”

Alex jumps and turns around, brandishing her phone like it’s a weapon. “GET AWAY FROM HER YOU-  _ Lucy? _ ”

“Holy shit, what happened to her?!?”

Maggie’s shirt had been cut away, explaining the strips of cloth on the bag. Her entire torso was almost completely black, with parts of it looking purple or reddish. The shape of it also looked off,  _ wrong, _ and Lucy didn't need a medical degree to realize Maggie had way too many broken ribs. 

_ God, how many ribs does a person even have?  _ She thought as she walked up to the bed and looked at the badly deformed mess that was Maggie’s torso, barely moving with each of her shallow breaths. 

Looking up, she saw Maggie's face was pale as a sheet, and there was a small trail of blood coming out of her mouth, tinting her teeth pink. 

Lucy raised a shaking hand, wondering if she could even touch Maggie without hurting her, when she got rammed from the side. “I said get away from her!”

Lucy stumbled back before pushing Alex off of her. “I’m not doing anything! What happened to her? Did you call an ambulance yet?” 

“Wait, no!” Lucy barely had a chance to pull out her phone before Alex was snatching it and throwing it across the room.

“What the fuck is wrong with you? She needs help!”

“I know she does alright? But you are gonna make it worse!”

“Worse? She looks half dead already! She needs a doctor,  _ now.” _

Lucy starts to move for her fallen phone but Alex grabs her forearm and yells in her face. “No Lucy,  _ look at her!” _

Lucy can’t. She has seen blood before, seen broken bones before, but never anything this bad.

“If you call an ambulance, you can put her in even more danger.”

That gets her attention. With a deep breath to brace herself, Lucy turns to Maggie and looks closer.

“What- what is  _ that?” _

There were faint, green, glowing lines all through Maggie’s torso. The lines looked almost like veins, spiderwebbed on Maggie's skin, the glow in them seeming to flow in sync with her labored breathing. 

Lucy held her hand a few inches above Maggie's stomach, and the lines beneath her palm started glowing brighter.

“That- that's not normal.”

“No, it's not! That's why you can’t call anyone, we don’t know what they’d do to her!”

Lucy opened her mouth to argue. Then she thought about her own abilities. Her own secret.

There were people who would want to hurt her and her team too, just because they were different. She would never let that happen.

She couldn’t let it happen to Maggie either.

She started pacing. Trying to think of a solution yet unable to keep looking at Maggie. “You’re right. We can't just take her to the hospital. But there's gotta be  _ something _ we can do for her.”

“I did everything I could already! But what if it’s not enough? She doesn't look any better than she did when I found her.”

At that, Lucy stopped and turned, looking closely at Alex. She was pale, with her eyes bloodshot and tear tracks down her cheeks. Her hands had blood on them and were shaking subtly. With a deep breath, Lucy shoved her fear down and forced her voice to come out with a calm she did not feel.

“Alex. I need you to tell me what happened to her.”

Alex looked down and took a step back. 

“Ahdtnw.”

“What was that?”

“I said I don't know okay? I don't know because she was alone, and she was alone because I left her! We knew there was a dangerous maniac roaming the town and I still let her go home alone! She was alone when this happened and then I came looking for her and I found her like this and I tried to patch her up but I can’t fix her and- and-”

The wind seemed to leave Alex's sails as fear and pain replaced anger on her face again. She sat at the foot of Maggie's bed and buried her face in her hands. 

In front of her, Lucy was frozen. Hung up on a single thing Alex had said.

A dangerous maniac.

“Rita.”

“What?”

“Do you know if- do you think it was that maniac from the news? Was Maggie wearing any gold?”

“N-no, she wasn’t, but who else could it be?”

Neither of them noticed Maggie's fingers twitching.

“This is important Danvers.” She thought about the crater left on the street and the way her coin had led her here. 

“I don't know why she would target Maggie, but I think you are right. It was the Gold Killer who did this to her. Did you see  _ anything _ weird when you were heading here? A strange woman maybe?”

“Yhs.”

Both Alex and Lucy jumped when they heard Maggie's voice.

“Gld wman.”

They ran to her bedside. Alex immediately trying to tell her not to talk, to save her breath, she was going to be okay, they got her.

But Maggie was having none of it.

“Th dks.”

“Maggie don’t try to talk, you’re hurt.”

“Th dks!”

Her attempt to raise her voice sent Maggie into a coughing fit. Lucy and Alex both quickly held her shoulders to keep her from injuring herself further. 

When she touched Maggie, the green lines on her skin nearest to Lucy’s hand started glowing a continuous, bright green, with some tinges of yellow. Maggie’s breathing got smoother, her eyes twitching before cracking open a sliver. When she spoke again, her voice was clearer.

“The docks…. That woman... she came to the jewelry shop. Took all the gold. Killed- killed the cop…. I tried to stop her but- monster. Made of rock. Told it to kill me. She said- she said where dead ships live, then tomorrow kill the town and Zordon's kids. She’s at the docks.”

Lucy's stomach sank even as Alex asked who Zordon’s kids were. But then the light faded from Maggie's skin, her eyes rolled back in her head and she fell unconscious again. 

“Maggie? Maggie!”

“Maggie wake up!”

As Alex frantically checked Maggie’s vitals, Lucy brushed some hair out of Maggie’s face, not caring that she was getting blood on her hand and jacket. Guilt felt like a stone in her stomach.

If Maggie died, the blame would be on the team for not being able to stop Rita before something like this happened. 

And Maggie’s message, they couldn’t let Rita destroy the town. They couldn’t let her unleash Goldar on the citizens.

They had to do  _ something. _

“Alex.”

“What? Now what?”

“Take care of Maggie.”

That got her attention. Alex frowned at Lucy from where she was crouched down checking on a bandage on Maggie’s arm.

“What?”

“I need to go.”

“Lucy-”

“No, Alex. I need you to watch over Maggie for me. Just- just keep her safe okay?”

Without giving Alex a chance to answer Lucy turned and bolted out of the house - her ranger speed meaning Alex’s cry of protest was barely heard. As she ran she pulled out her phone and sent a text to the Rangers’ group chat.

[Meet me at the football field. Urgent]

~*~

Lucy was pacing, waiting for the others to show up.

“We all got the same text, so where is she?”

She looked over to where Kim’s voice had come from, and saw her 4 teammates had just arrived and were looking for her.

“I’m here!” She walked out from under the shadow of the bleachers. All eyes turned to her. She took a deep breath and steeled herself to break the news to them.

“Look, Rita attacked Maggie tonight.” 

Zack gasped. Jason and Billy exchanged a look. 

Kim was the first one to speak. “ _ What?” _

“Yeah,” Lucy raised her hand, showed them the blood on the cuff of her jacket. “She’s insane. She nearly killed Maggie.” She hoped they hadn’t noticed her voice shake.

“Maggie saw her attacking someone and tried to stop her. Rita raised a putty and had it attack her. Maggie never had a chance.” They could definitely hear her voice shake now, but no one commented on it. 

Zack looked like the floor had been yanked from under him. “Is- is she okay?”

Lucy hated to be the one to tell him his best friend may not make it. Would probably not make it. “No, she’s not. She was beat up really bad.”

Zack’s face fell, and Lucy couldn’t help but try to reassure him. “She’s still fighting though. She even managed to tell me a little about what happened.”

“And what was that?” 

In all the time they’d known him, Jason had never sounded this serious.

Lucy really,  _ really _ hated having to tell them this. “At dawn, Rita will launch her attack and destroy Angel Grove.”

“This is real.” Kim said, putting a hand to her head, “This is the end.”

“No it’s not!” Jason turned to Lucy. “We need to stop Rita. Do you know where she is?”

“At the boatyard, by the docks. Maggie figured it out.”

Jason started heading for the exit. “Alright. Let’s go!”

Kim turned an incredulous glare on him, “What?”

Zack scoffed. Billy looked down. Lucy bit her lip and gave Jason a hesitant look. Maggie had been terribly hurt. She didn’t want any of them to end up like her.

“Are you serious? No one?” Jason turned so he could fully face them.

“Jason, we’re not even Power Rangers yet” Lucy tried to reason with him.

“I say we go back to Zordon.” Billy said. It wasn’t a bad idea.

“Okay,” Jason started, “the only reason Zordon wanted us to become Power Rangers is so that he can come back to life.”

Billy looked confused, “What makes you say that?” 

“It’s what he told me.”

“Wait, so this all is a lie?” 

“Of course it was a lie, Billy. We failed! Let’s stop being delusional about being a team of superheroes.”

Lucy glanced at the others. They all seemed as discouraged as she felt by Jason’s words. But he was not done yet.

“We are all screw-ups. And as much as I hate this scrubby, bullshit town, I don’t wanna just sit around and watch it die.” he shook his head, looking them all in the eye. “Let’s go and do the one thing that’s been asked of us, and stop Rita.”

Kim huffed out an incredulous laugh. “You know this is a really bad idea, right?”

“The worst.” Well, Lucy figured he at least was honest about that.

“Let’s vote. Show of hands.” Jason looked at all of them again. Almost daring them to follow him.

Well, he was insane, and stubborn, and a little impulsive. He seemed like the only kind of leader Lucy could see herself following. With a smirk, she raised her hand.

Looking half excited, half like she couldn’t believe herself, Kim followed her lead. Zack looked at them both, looked at the blood on Lucy’s jacket, and raised his fist with a solemn smile. Jason raised his arm as far as it could go, and pointed to the sky. 

They all turned to look at Billy. He looked back, shook his head a little, and put his hand up too.

“Let’s do it.” Jason turned and left. 

Without another word, his team followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is!!!  
> Thank Jesi_Ki_Kage for being an amazing beta  
> There should only be one more chapter after this one, i hope

Once the battle had ended and the dust started to clear, all the Rangers had called or gotten called by their families.

After asking her a million times if she was okay, Lois had told Lucy that she was at their house, and she wanted to type up an article about everything that had happened in the town. Then she had asked Lucy to come straight home. Lucy had claimed she was on the other side of town, she was safe in Kimberly's house, and she didn't want to risk the streets for now. Eventually Lois had agreed the town didn't seem quite safe yet. Both sisters had agreed to stay inside and stay safe, and both sisters pretended they didn't realize the other was lying and would take to the streets as soon as possible.

After hanging up with Lois, Lucy had called Alex. She picked up on the first ring.

“You need to get over here.”

Lucy's heart sank. “Is Maggie-?”

“She's fine, just get over here. Quickly.” She hung up the phone.

“What?” Lucy dialed her again, but it went straight to voicemail.

She forced herself to move at a human speed as she jogged for Maggie's house, knowing the streets were too torn up for any buses or cabs to be running. She came across several people who needed help, and did what she could without giving her strength away.

As she headed for the edge of the town, she expected the destruction levels around her would lessen. Krispy Kreme was near the center of town, and Goldar’s attack had come from the mountains, while Maggie lived near the sea, on the other side of town. However, the closer she got to Maggie's place, the more ruins and debris she had to walk around.

Thankfully, when she got to the right street Lucy saw the destruction ended abruptly just half a block from Maggie’s place.

Lucy found the door to Maggie's house unlocked again, and with a worried scoff, she ran inside. She rushed all the way to Maggie's room. Her heart stopped when she found the bed empty, the sheets stained with blood. She heard Alex's voice coming from another room, apparently talking with someone. Lucy braced herself and turned the corner. She found herself in the kitchen, and face to face with- 

“Maggie?!”

“Lucy!”

Suddenly, both Maggie and Lucy were drenched with water. A crinkling noise made Lucy look at Maggie's hand, where Maggie was holding the remains of a crushed water bottle.

“But- but- how is this possible? You were dying!” She looked Maggie up and down. Other than some blood stains on her jeans and shoes, she seemed perfectly fine.

“It was really weird,” Alex cut in, “she was badly injured, you saw her, and then the city got attacked and I saw that huge monster fall on TV and then I heard coughing and I looked down at her and she was-” she gestured to Maggie, standing in the kitchen, wearing a fresh shirt, not a single scratch on her.

“I don't know what happened. It was so cold, and I was attacked by that creepy woman and her monster, and then everything went black and it seriously hurt like I’d been hit by a train, but then I woke up today and I felt fine and-”

Lucy gasped so loud both girls turned to look at her.

“Lucy?”

Lucy's eyes were really wide, “What- what did you just say?”

“Uh, it hurt like I’d been hit by a train?”

“Yeah.” Lucy looked a little pale. “Check your pockets.”

“Lucy what-” Alex stepped forward.

Lucy raised a hand to stop her without breaking eye contact with Maggie. “Just- just check your pockets.”

Maggie looked confused, but slipped her hands into her pockets; front first, then back. Suddenly, she paled and went very, very still. 

Slowly, she pulled her hands out of her pockets. 

And there it was. Clutched on her right hand, looking exactly how she remembered from last night, a round, flat coin with golden edges and a center made of a bright, green-

“AAAH!”

Alex snatched the coin and threw it out the window.

“What the fu-”

“Alex!!!”

Alex seemed surprised when both Lucy and Maggie turned scandalized glares her way. “What?”

“Why the fuck did you do that?”

“You can't just have krypto-!” Alex stopped herself so suddenly Lucy could almost hear tires screeching.  

“Krypto what?” 

“Uh krypto… Krypto is Kara’s cousin’s dog. He's allergic to the color green. I'm just looking out for him.”

“...Allergic to green. Really Danvers.” 

“Seriously! It's totally a thing, Clark’s friend Hal Jordan is allergic to yellow!” 

“Huh. Wonder what happens if I punched him.” 

“What? “ 

“Nevermind.”

“Guys,” Maggie had been longingly looking at the window while Alex and Lucy had been arguing. “Can we just- go get it?”

“Nah,” Lucy waved a hand, “there's no need for that.”

“You just nearly bit my head off-”

“Cool it Danvers.” Lucy interrupted. “What I meant was that, if I’m right,” she turned a wary smile at Maggie, “the coin should be back in your pocket already.”

“What?” Maggie put her hand back in her pocket and her eyes widened. She pulled out the coin again, and exchanged a wide-eyed look with Alex, before both of them turned their attention back at Lucy.

Lucy looked a lot more sombre now, as she considered them both. “Yeah, you're gonna have to come with me.”

“Come where?” Alex looked alarmed.

“Swimming.”

“What?” Maggie held on to the coin like she expected someone to take it away again.

“I'm gonna throw you off a cliff.”

“Lucy-”

But Lucy had already turned to leave, pulling out her phone and feeling a huge sense of deja vu as she texted the group chat.  _ Meet me at the cliff. Urgent. _

 

~*~

 

Lucy led them out the house and in the direction of the mine. 

Both Alex and Maggie were very quiet as they walked, seeing for the first time how bad the damage to the town really was. Maggie in particular seemed to shiver and flinch and clutch at her pocket every time they walked past the remains of a putty. 

Lucy watched them closely the whole time. By the time they got to the cliff she was pretty impressed with Alex's ability to keep pace with them. 

All three girls stood a good distance from the cliff’s edge. They only had to wait for a few minutes before the others started arriving.

“Yo crazy girl wassup? Where's the fir-” Zack cut himself off when he saw Alex and Maggie standing awkwardly next to Lucy.

“Ow, hey!” Jason had been walking behind Zack, and he slammed onto his back when Zack stopped short. “Hey man, give me some war-” Jason’s mouth stopped moving when he saw the girls, then it kept moving with no noise coming out.

“What’s the big deal? Oh-” Kim came up behind Jason, Billy walking next to her. They both stopped and looked at the trio standing by the cliff’s edge. 

“Uh…” Alex started hesitantly.

Beside her, Maggie lifted a hand in a little wave, “Uh, hi? Oof-”

Zack had taken off almost faster than their eyes could follow, and tackled Maggie into a hug.

“You're okay! I thought you were dying! Lucy said-” he cut himself off and pulled back, holding Maggie by the shoulders and looking her up and down before turning an incredulous look at Lucy. “Did you  _ lie _ to us?”

All the team turned to look at Lucy, and she took a surprised step back. “What? No! Of course not!”

“But you said-” Billy started.

“She wasn't lying.”

Everyone turned to look at Alex, who looked half surprised she had even spoken. “I mean-” Alex swallowed, and then her eyes hardened. “She was not lying. Maggie got attacked and she almost died. She  _ should  _ have died. I'm not even completely sure that she didn't.”

“You mean- like me?”

The entire team flinched at Billy's reminder of the past night’s events.

“Yeah Billy, I think it may have been a little like that.” Lucy muttered. “Show them.” She told Maggie.

Maggie looked nervous with all their attention placed on her, but she still dug into her pocket and pulled out the coin. 

“That- that is-” Zack was very pale as he looked down Maggie's hand. 

“Rita’s Power Coin” Kim whispered.

“Rita? Who's Rita?” Maggie asked hesitantly.

“The woman who attacked you last night. The one who attacked the town.”

Maggie's eyes widen and she turns to look at Lucy. “She’s  _ alive?” _

Jason sighs and takes a step towards them. “We need to take you to Zordon. But Alex can't come.”

“Excuse you?” Alex's voice could have cut glass. “If you think I’m gonna let my two-” she snuck a glance at Billy, “my  _ three  _ best friends go who knows where when they look freaked out of their minds with fear and at least one of them may have literally  _ died  _ last night? Well then, you have another thing coming buddy.”

“You are not allowed to-”

“Jason,” Kim cut in. “It doesn't matter if she's allowed or not.” She turned around and looked Alex directly in the eye, “the reason you cannot come with us is that, plain and simple, you cannot keep up. The place we are going is an underwater cave, and the only way to get there is by jumping off that cliff. So if you have a single shred of common sense, you are gonna turn arou-  _ oh for the love of-” _

Maggie and Billy rushed for the cliff’s edge and peered down. “Alex!”

Lucy leveled a death glare at Kim. “Have you ever  _ met _ Alex Danvers?! You don't just tell her she can't do something!”

Kim sputtered as Lucy took a running leap after Alex. Zack let out a booming laugh and followed while yelling, “Oh yeah! Crazy Girl’s got competition!”

Billy smiled and offered Maggie a hand. “Coming?” With a nervous smile, Maggie took it and they jumped. 

Jason and Kim exchanged a dumbfounded look. Then Kim sighed and walked to the cliff. “Shall we?”

Jason nodded, and together, they took the dive. 

 

~*~

 

Once in the ship, Alex and Maggie's jaws were on the floor, and their eyes looked like they couldn't get any wider.

“Oookay, massive secret underground alien spaceship. Got it. Just a regular Tuesday.” Alex said.

“It's Friday.”

“Right. Thanks, Billy. Now what?”

When there was no answer, Alex forced her eyes away from the walls and ceilings of the ship and looked back at the team with a frown. Lucy was glaring at Jason, and Maggie still seemed overwhelmed by the entire situation. Everyone else was alternating hesitant looks between Jason and Alex. As she made eye contact with him, Jason crossed his arms and leveled a disapproving glare at Alex. 

Alex rolled her eyes. “You know what? Fine. Have it your way. Whoever this Zordon is, I'm sure I can find them myself.” With that she turned on her heel, picked a direction at random, and marched off.

“Nice job boss. Just keep on pissing her off.” Zack laughed as he went after her.

“See?” Lucy smirked at Jason, “you can't just tell her not to do something. She's here now, you may as well just roll with it.”

“You do realize they are headed for the Pit don't you?”

Lucy blanched. “Oh shit. Danvers!” she yelled as she ran off into the cave.

“Lucy, wait!” Maggie took two hesitant steps after her and stopped. She fidgeted nervously with the hem of her shirt, before taking a deep breath and looking at Billy. “Uh what- what is the Pit? Should Lucy really be that worried?”

Kim raised an appraising eyebrow at Maggie, “Maybe. Depends on if Zack does the stupid thing and activates it or not.” 

At Maggie's confused look, she laughed and added, “Come on. It’s easier to just show you.” She threw an arm around Maggie's shoulders and started steering her after the others. 

Billy and Jason just stared at each other until Kim tossed a “Come on guys!” over her shoulder. 

“But, the secret-!” Billy grabbed Jason’s arm and dragged him after the girls, Jason’s grumbling not stopping the whole time.

 

~*~

 

Lucy raised a small cloud of dust when she skidded to a stop in the middle of the Pit. She looked left, then right, but there was no sign of Alex or Zack. Confused, she started looking around, when she heard a faint metallic screech coming from deeper inside the cave.

“He would not…” But Zack totally would and she knew it. If his first move after being shown the Zords was to climb on his mastodon and joyride  _ through _ a mountain, it was not hard to believe that he would take a non Ranger - a squishy, vulnerable, non Ranger- and show them the way into the cavern where the team kept their giant metal monsters. Because of course nothing could go wrong with that scenario.

Alex was gonna love the Zords.

Lucy winced and hurried for the Zord cavern.

She was taken a little off guard by the sight that greeted her in there. 

Zack was hanging back, the asshole, and he was watching Alex quietly.

Alex's jaw was hanging open and she took a few small steps closer to the center of the cavern. Her eyes were shining in wonder as she looked at the Zords. 

“It was you. You are the ones that came out of nowhere and stopped the monsters. The ones from the news.”

“Yeah well,” Zack answered, “it wasn't easy.”

Lucy let her eyes wander through the cavern and held back a sad frown. They may have won the battle against Rita, but it had come at high cost to the Zords. 

As Alex approached them, none of the metallic beasts moved more than their head to keep her in sight. 

As magnificent as they were, the damage was clear. All five of them had burn marks. Twisted metal could be seen on some of their limbs and claws. Jason’s t-rex was missing two teeth. Zack’s mastodon was lying on its right side, exposing several baseball sized holes on its left side from where a few wires were sparking. Kim’s pterodactyl was up in its perch. One wing was folded against its back, but the other one was dragging half open at its side.

Alex started a little when Lucy walked past her and headed for her tiger. 

The yellow saber-tooth was lying down against a wall of the cave. When Lucy came close enough, it lifted its head and pressed its nose against Lucy’s leg. Lucy ran her hand over its cheek, stopping under the ear. One of the deployable canons the tiger had on the side of its head had gotten bent and now wouldn’t fold back into place. 

“Whoa…”

The solemn moment was interrupted by Maggie's voice. Lucy turned to the entrance of the cavern and saw the rest of the team had joined them too. Everyone seemed to deflate when they saw their Zords and remembered the hard battle they’d fought less than 24 hours earlier.

“Are these…” Alex started, hesitantly.

“Zords” Billy said.

“Right. Are these- Zords, are they alien?”

Billy glanced at Jason in question. Jason sighed and slumped his shoulders, before nodding his acceptance. 

“Jason, can we tell her?”

Jason blinked, “Yes Billy, go ahead.”

“These are the Zords,” Billy started, “and yes, they are alien. This one’s mine.” He guided Alex to his triceratops, which was lying on its side and keeping its weight off its left legs. 

Alex reached out with a hand but stopped herself and turned to Billy. “Can I touch it?” 

Billy smiled. “Thanks for asking. Yes, you can. Just mind the face. The horns are supposed to protect it but we rammed so many things yesterday that it’s hurting pretty bad.”

“Wait, it’s- hurting? Aren't they robots?”

Billy looked almost offended by Maggie’s question. “Robots can hurt too!”

“Billy,” Kim jumped in. “It's a valid question,” she turned to Maggie, “but it's a bit hard to explain.”

“They can feel pain,” Zack said, “and while we’re riding them, we are connected to them, and we can feel echoes of it too.”

Alex and Maggie exchanged a wide-eyed look as they realized the implications of that, considering just how banged up all of these creatures were. 

“Do you think Maggie is gonna get one too?”

Maggie jumped at Kim’s question and started frantically looking between the giant robots and the people in the cave. 

Jason took one look at her wide eyes and fidgeting hands, and stepped in. “We can just add that to the list of things we have to ask Zordon. I'm sure he’ll have answers for us. Come on,” he glanced at Alex, “let’s go see him.”

Lucy took her hand away from her tiger and joined her team as they guided Alex and Maggie to the command room.

~*~

Zordon wasn’t happy.

“What were you five thinking?!”

Well, he was happy about Maggie.

“Welcome to the team, Green Ranger!”

But he wasn't happy about Alex.

“It was your sacred duty to protect the secret!”

“Yeah well, she found out on her own, what was I supposed to do? Say ’you’ve seen too much’ and actually throw her off a cliff?”

Not that Lucy was happy with Zordon either.

“Perhaps! In order to keep the secret-”

“Screw your secret!”

“Your duty-”

“Oookay!” Zack interrupted, “not that the last half hour of Lucy yelling at a wall hasn't been entertaining, but-”

“Did Zordon just imply we should kill Alex?” Billy sounded baffled. 

“We are not killing  _ anyone” _ the glare Jason gave Zordon was fierce.

“Can we just give Maggie the introduction to the team?” Kim asked.

“Not while this non-ranger is among us!”

“Do I get a say in any of this?” Alex asked.

“A say you ask! As if you didn't know far too much already!” Zordon repeated for possibly the millionth time, “The sanctity of our secret-”

“I know how to keep a secret too, you know!” Apparently Alex was losing her temper.

“Nonsense!” Zordon exclaimed, before switching to his native tongue and muttering “E fgah hnim kip zal sheq nit”

“Hey, keep it in english dude!” Lucy yelled.

“Oh no, he's fine” Alex sounded pissed. Then, to everyone's surprise, she said, “Nushala infra hafo ka. We ruzo slen ri waru fa goza ñi oeua ñi."

Dead silence fell on the room. Zordon was the first to break it. “How is it that a human child like you speaks Eltaran?”

“I can't tell you dude.” Alex smirked. “It's a secret.”

“Oh shiiiit!” Lucy laughed.

“Burn!” Zack yelled.

“She’s got you there, Zordon, she really does.” Even Billy was trying to hide a smirk.

Jason and Kim were open mouthed and looking at Zordon in disbelief, then at Alex, then at Zordon. Then at Alex again. 

“Ok but what did he say? And you?”

Alex blushed a little at the awe in Maggie's voice. “He said ’What would a human child like you even know about secrets?’. I said ’You clearly have no respect for me. At least have the decency to tell me that to my face in my language’.”

The team started laughing again, until Zordon said “That still doesn't change the fact that a random outsider-”

“Look buddy,” Alex interrupted, “I happen to know a lot more than just how to speak an alien language. I know the history and politics of several planets. I'm a fast learner. I'm also really good with machines. Maybe I could help you. If you let me take a look at those Zords you have, I’m sure I can do some repairs.”

At this Zordon went quiet, but a weird hum started sounding all around them. The viewing globe in the center of the room lit up for a moment before going dark again.

“Uh, Zordon, what was that?” Kim asked.

“Those were the ship scanners. There is a great number of alien species that can mimic the human form. The most known on Earth being Martians and Kryptonians, both of which have a great proficiency for intergalactic languages. Or had, in the case of Kryptonians. I was merely making sure miss Danvers was, in fact, a human. The scans came out positive though. She is who she says she is.” Zordon sounded almost disappointed by that. 

“Aww. It would've been cool to get to talk to an actual alien.”

“Uh, Zack? Zordon is an actual alien.”

“...Right. I knew that. Thanks Billy.”

Alex looked a little pale, but still she did not back down. “What's it gonna be? Can I stay? I know more about aliens and alien technology than anyone else here but you. I could help and you know it.”

“So you say. I have nothing but your word and a single line said in my birth language. If you want to stay around you're going to have to prove yourself useful. You shall start by working on the Zords after I tell you and the new Green Ranger of the history of the Ranger Corps.”

“Yes!” Zack fist pumped, “congratulations ladies, you are officially in.”

Alex and Maggie smiled at each other, and Lucy smiled at them both.

“Oh! Alex needs a codename!” Billy exclaimed.

“A codename? Why do I need a codename?”

“To protect your identity! We can call each other by our colors, but you don't have a color, so you need a codename.”

“That’s a great idea Billy! Let's call her… Mr. Tumnus. She can be our closet agent.”

“Lane!”

“Oh! I got it!” Zack said, “what about Bomber Locker, because of those three lockers you and Billy blew up!”

“That wasn't- you can't prove-”

“She could be Mama Bear,” Kim supplied, “cause let me tell you, the cheerleader squad messed with her kid sister exactly  _ once _ .”

“They had that coming, they made her cry!”

“Oracle! It fits cause she's a redhead!” Billy jumped in.

“My hair isn't even that red!”

“How about the Dinosaur Enforcer of Order?” Jason proposed, “We can call her DEO for short.”

“Nah man. That sounds like we’re trying too hard.” Zack replied.

“Vega-NO” 

“Maggie!” Alex whined, sounding betrayed, “you too?”

“I'm sure we can figure something out later.” Jason placated, only to have the whole team turn at him as one and start yelling more possible nicknames, all speaking over each other.

Alex slowly backed up until she was standing by the wall next to Maggie. “What do you think we just got ourselves into?” Maggie asked her.

“I’m not sure,” Alex said, as she looked over at the other five teens, who had just started to play-wrestle in the middle of the room. Lucy had climbed on Zack’s back and was playfully hitting him over the head with her beanie. “But I have a feeling our lives are about to get MUCH more interesting.”

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter wraps up the story, and it has some scenes and concepts i'd been planning from the start.
> 
> Thank you for everyone who has stuck with this fic until now, and a huge thank you to Jesi_Ki_Kage for being my beta reader.
> 
> It's been a while since the last update, so i recommend rereading some of the old chapters to help you remember what's going on.
> 
> Happy late birthday DontBeJelly!

 

Zordon glanced at the seven teens before him. Then he turned his attention inwards, to the inner sensors of the ship.

Weeks later, and he still couldn't believe it.

But. There it was. The uncorrupted signature of the Green Power Coin. Back in synch with the others, for the first time in 65 million years. 

It was incredible.

The Green Coin was back. The team had a Green Ranger again. For the first time since Rita had turned evil right under his nose. Since she’d killed his whole team.

And now, here were these humans, these kids. 

They were now the Protectors of Earth. They were the carriers of the Legacy of Power. 

They were the Power Rangers. 

For his entire time as a ranger, Zordon had treated his team professionally and strictly. 

He hadn't been cruel, he didn’t think, but he’d definitely been stern. 

Power Rangers were not meant to be friends, they were meant to be a well-coordinated team of Protectors of Life. Attachment to each other was not to be encouraged, since the team would never be as important as the goal. Attachment outside of the team was unthinkable. They were just too important to be able to waste their time like that.

And yet.

These humans had just beaten all odds and defeated the last surviving member of his elite team. These humans had bonded with each other to a level as deep as that of teams with years more of experience in just a few days. They had created and maintained a friendship with two humans not on the team, and now one of them was going to fix the ship, and the other had joined their ranks, taming Rita’s tainted coin back towards their side.

Power Rangers weren’t meant to be friends, yet these teens had made a family. 

 

~*~*~

 

Lucy couldn't believe how much her life had changed the past month. 

When she’d moved to Angel Grove, she’d assumed it was going to be just another small town where she’d keep her head down until she could leave again. She wasn’t expecting for anything particularly interesting to happen.

She certainly hadn't been expecting aliens, but to be perfectly honest, those almost seemed easier to accept than everything else that had happened. 

She had friends now. She had a team. She had powers. She had a secret alien base, and a Zord, and Alex and Maggie. She kept flirting with Alex and Maggie, and rather than push her away, they both kept flirting back. 

Of course, not everything was perfect. 

The attack on the town had done a number on all of them.

The team still woke up with nightmares almost every night. 

But they were recovering. Little by little.

They were together through nightmares and flashbacks. They talked each other out of panics and held regular sleepovers to ward off nightmares.

It may take time, but they would heal. Together. 

In time they would look back at the battle, and wonder how they had managed to defeat Rita and her giant monster after only a few days of training. They would eventually learn that Maggie had actually saved them all the moment she’d stolen the Power Coin from Rita. Her touching it had gotten the coin to react and latch onto the first worthy person who had touched it since Rita had started to stray. And when Rita had turned her power against Maggie, the coin had held back. The Grid had protected Maggie. 

Bound as it still was to Rita, the coin had connected Maggie and Rita together. Kept Rita from using all her power against the team. Kept Maggie alive despite all her injuries.

Throughout the battle, Alex and the Grid had kept Maggie alive, and that in turn had kept Rita from being able to turn her full power on the team. 

But this learning would come with time, once they had the peace of mind to view recordings of the battle and analyze them. 

Before any of that could happen, there was still one thing left to do.

The ideas for a code name for Alex had only gotten crazier as the days went by and the attack on the town became more of a memory.

They finally, finally came to a decision on the day Alex finished with the superficial repairs to the Zords, and started needing for them to move around so she could examine the larger damage and start planning how to deal with it.

“Damn.” Zach let out an impressed whistle as he watched, “You got the Zords to listen to you right away! They’ve only been listening to their rider since we got them. You're like, the alpha Zord.” Zack looked very impressed. “Hey, how’s that for a code name?”

“Alex is more like, the Alpha T-rex. Cause she orders all of  _ us  _ around too. Even Jason. ” Billy pointed out

“Mmm, not quite.” Kim said. “Neither Lucy nor her Zord are all that good at following orders.” 

Everyone looked to the side of the cave. Lucy was sitting on a rock, wiping some dirt from her arm with Maggie’s green towel, drinking from Zack’s water bottle and eating Jason’s post-training snacks. She looked up at them with an innocent look they could almost believe, before smirking and looking over her shoulder at the Zords. Her saber tooth was sprawled on its back, swiping its front paws up like a kitten trying to claw Kim's pterodactyl from where it was perched above the large cat. Behind it, they could see Billy's triceratops shaking its head in clear annoyance, as the tiger’s tail flicked it on the face with a small metallic noise over and over in time with its paw swipes up.

“Oookay,” Jason started, “so Alex is like the Alpha of the Reptiles, since Lucy’s tiger is the only mammal in the Zord team-”

Jason got cut off by a loud crash and a groan. The Rangers turned around just in time to see Zack’s mastodon slam its trunk against the t-rex's flank a second time. It wound back for another go, but the t-rex scrambled back and out of reach. The mastodon growled a little but settled back down.

“Well,” Lucy snorted, “way to ignore the elephant in the room, Jase.”

Zack and Maggie laughed. Jason just groaned and pinched his nose as everyone else rolled their eyes at Lucy.

Zordon's voice rang out from the ceiling, pulling their attention upwards. “If what you want is a code name for Miss Danvers, may I suggest Alpha 5?” 

“Alpha 5?” asked Lucy, wrinkling her nose at the ceiling.

“Zordon, are you seriously joining in on the nickname debate?” Alex sounded dismayed.

“Why wouldn’t he? He’s part of the team, right?” said Billy. 

“Of course he is! What else have you got, Wall-Dad?” Lucy asked.

“No!” Alex said, stammering when everyone turned to look at her. “I mean, uh, I like that one. Let’s just keep that one. Maybe without the number though?”

Maggie nodded. “Alright, Alpha it is. Are there any objections?”

From his place in the systems of the ship, Zordon felt himself smile.

Six Power Rangers, and their teammate, Alpha.

They would protect their planet, guard the Crystal, and face down anyone that tried to harm their team.

And they would do it together.

Just as it should be.

 

Because Power Rangers were always,  _ always  _ stronger together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon that didn’t make it into the fic, in this verse Rita could feel that the power of the Green Coin wasn’t fully hers to command anymore. That the Green was fighting her. That is why she killed Billy at the docks scene. Blue plus Yellow makes Green. By killing either Billy or Lucy she was hoping to destabilize Green long enough for Maggie to finally die of her injuries.


End file.
